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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering in California (With Aid)

9 Ranked Colleges
185 Degrees Awarded
$15,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking.

Materials Engineering is the 150th most popular major in the country with 3,485 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, materials engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $63,129 and had an average of $23,918 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 482 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $64,000 and $15,750 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 185 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in materials engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality materials engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the materials engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Materials Engineering Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering in California (With Aid)

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Stanford is $11,496 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low student loan default rate of 0.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Stanford University

#2

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #2 spot on the list. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 23 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCLA is $14,279 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,783 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students with aid per year to attend UC Irvine.

The low student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of California - Irvine

#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school awarded 14 degrees to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCR, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $12,871 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students with aid per year to attend University of California - Riverside.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at UCR

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in San Luis Obispo, California, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $21,595 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

#6

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#6 in overall quality

San Jose State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. San Jose State is a public institution located in San Jose, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also made our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $14,928 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students with aid per year to attend San Jose State University.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full San Jose State University Materials Engineering Report

University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students with aid list, UC Davis has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Davis is $14,669 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Materials Engineering at UC Davis

#8

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, California Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Caltech is located in Pasadena, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students with aid list, Caltech has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Caltech is $24,274 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students with aid.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at California Institute of Technology

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Merced did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. UC Merced is a public institution located in Merced, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Merced, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $13,896 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students with aid per year to attend University of California - Merced.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of California - Merced

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Panoramedia.

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